Republicans and Democrats alike criticized Texas Sen. Ted Cruz this weekend for remarks he made likening the U.S.’s potential military action in Syria to being “al-Qaeda’s air force.”

For days, members of Congress have been making cases for whether or not the U.S. should get involved in the conflict. With a vote looming this week, many are still undecided, but the majority of Republicans, including Cruz, have stood vehemently against military action.

Cruz said last week that military members should be focused on defending the country. “That’s why young men and women sign up to join the military, not to, as you know, serve as Al Qaeda’s air force.”

At the time of his remark, Cruz earned criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, most notably from Arizona Sen. John McCain, who called Cruz “totally uninformed” about who the rebel forces were. McCain met with opposition army’s leader, Gen. Salim Idress, in June.

Another Republican, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Iraq War veteran, also called out Cruz’s comments, saying it was “a cheap line by people to garner headlines.”

On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, appearing on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, said he was outraged by Cruz’s remarks and reiterated that any military action in Syria would not be a full-scale war, as in Iraq or Afghanistan, but a targeted effort to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“We didn’t go to Congress because we thought this was an empty exercise,” McDonough said. “We are investing a lot of time and effort in this because we think Congress should be a full partner in our national security matters. And when they are, we’re stronger as a country.”

Cruz, who appeared on the show after McDonough, rebuffed the chief of staff’s comments and defended his own by saying the Obama administration has no viable play for intervention and the plan is not based on defending U.S. national security.